Inventions

Internal Bore Casing Cutter

invented by Chris Davidson

( Winner )

Internal Bore Casing Cutter

The Internal Bore Casing Cutter allows the top meter of PVC bore casing to be cut and removed from the inside, creating minimal disturbance to the surrounding land.The machine goes inside the pipe and cuts it 1 metre below ground, removing the need to dig a large hole to access it.

About the Inventor

Chris is a farmer from Chinchilla, QLD. He has a wife, and his first child, a baby boy, was just born. He grew up in England where he had a mixed farm, and immigrated to Australia in the 1980’s. He now has a small cattle farm and also does harvesting and welding work for farmers on the side.

Contact

For more information about Internal Bore Casing Cutter, contact the following:
chrisandtoni@dodo.com.au

Online Discussion

Australians love their property, but did you know we only legally own the top 6 inches of our land? This was the nasty shock Chris and his wife got when they received a letter from a mineral exploration company, stating their intention to do exploration work on Chris’ farm. They had no legal right to challenge this, so the company came to their land and started digging.

During the exploration work, the company did a lot of things that disturbed Chris' farming land. They were particularly bothered by the size of the hole the company dug to remove the top of the bore casing at the end of their exploration. The hole they dug was 5 meters in diameter and created a lot of disturbance for their farm, causing them to complain to the Queensland Department of Mines and Energy. Talking to other landowners in the area, he found this was a problem that disturbed them as well.

Chris thought so much disruption was unnecessary and devised his invention to minimise the disturbance caused to land by this process in the future. After negotiations the company allowed Chris to use the invention to cut the pipe on his property.

The Internal Bore Casing Cutter is a tool designed to cut bore casing from the inside out. The machine runs on compressed air. The motor turns a spinning fibre disc that cuts through the PVC piping.

The tool only needs one man to operate. It is designed to cut 3 different sizes- 5”, 7” and 8”. Sometimes a strengthening foam is used around the pipes. This is foam is normally only used around the top of the pipe, but the invention can cut through pipes with this foam on it if it’s lower than normal. To use the machine, the operator inserts it 1 metre into the PVC piping, and then turns the machine 360° to cut the pipe. Once cutting is complete, the top of the pipe is pulled up, the remaining pipe is capped as normal, and the small hole is filled in.

There are also two other simple elements Chris made to make the process even simpler and avoid the potential issue of the hole caving in. The first is a cleaner pipe, bigger than the casing pipe. Four prongs on the outside of the cleaner pipe allow you to lower it into the hole to dig soil away from the pipe, preventing the hole from collapsing before the pipe is capped. The other element is a long handle with a wood screw on the end, which helps you to put the cap on.

Quote of the Week

"I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones." - musical innovator John Cage